Mubadala Petroleum finalises $1bn deal for 22% stake in Israel's Tamar gas field​​​​​​​​​​

The company already operates in the Eastern Mediterranean within the Zohr gas field

A worker from the Israeli gas-drill Tamar platform in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Mubadala Petroleum has finalised a deal for a 22 per cent stake in the gas field. AFP

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Petroleum finalised a deal with Israel’s Delek Drilling to buy a 22 per cent stake in the Eastern Mediterranean's offshore Tamar field, the company said on Thursday.

“We can confirm the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with Delek Drilling for a 22 per cent stake in the Tamar gasfield for a value of $1.025 billion,” Mubadala Petroleum said.

“When finalised, the transaction will complement Mubadala Petroleum’s gas-biased portfolio strategy in line with its energy transition goals.”

In April, Mubadala Petroleum, a unit of Abu Dhabi’s strategic investment firm Mubadala Investment Company, signed a preliminary non-binding agreement with Delek Drilling for the non-operated stake in the Tamar field.

Other partners in the Tamar concession include Noble Energy, which has a 25 per cent stake, Isramco with 28.75 per cent, Tamar Petroleum, which holds a 16.75 per cent, Dor Gas and Everest with 4 per cent and 3.5 per cent interests, respectively.

“A huge deal with a company from the United Arab Emirates, alongside exporting gas to Eygpt and Jordan, are actions on the ground and exactly how to build a new Middle East,” Yossi Abu, chief executive of Delek Drilling, was quoted by Reuters as saying on Thursday.

Israel has seen a rush in gas developments following exploration work in the Tamar and Leviathan gasfields in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Israel has become an exporter of gas, supplying neighbouring Jordan, which imports more than 90 per cent of its energy needs.

Export of gas from the Tamar field was the first to be approved by the Israeli government. Last year, Tel Aviv began exports to Amman under a $10bn agreement to supply gas for 15 years.

There has been growing interest from the Gulf in the potential of the Eastern Mediterranean for further gas yields.

Mubadala Petroleum already operates in the Eastern Mediterranean within the Zohr gasfield through the Shorouk Concession, in which it has a 10 per cent stake.

The Tamar field, which lies to the west of the Israeli city of Haifa, was discovered by Noble Energy in 2009. The field, which is estimated to have 200 billion cubic metres of gas, is the largest find of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean's Levant basin.